[IC] A Hero Tale {Complete}

[Jensoman]

Jenso listened to all of Alvios's words, not saying a single thing as he spoke. After Alvios ended his story, Jenso frowned and stood rather casually again, relaxing himself. Alvios seemed sincere in his story. "Heh...You don't seem like a bad person, either. I'm glad my first impression of you was the right one when I ran into you, despite what Luke said." Jenso stated to Alvios. "But this is no way for you to live. We need to find the source of where the swarm comes from, and destroy it. That way, you can carry on with your life, and the people here will be safe.." Jenso stated. "...Besides, if Luke keeps the cave open and word gets out, there's a chance this 'Apollo' person is going to order the army to attack again." He added. "I want to have a word with Apollo, first of all."

[Hatman1801]

Alvios sighed in relief; the tension in the room and the trip down memory lane were stressful enough, at least now he didn't have to worry about Jenso not believing him. He knelt down and picked his sword back up. "Thank you for understanding. However, there's two problems with your plan. One, I have no idea where these creatures come from. They seem to just crawl out of the ground and ocean sporadically. Two, well, standard political issues. Apollo has supposedly better things to do than talk to the 'commoners' unless he's giving some speech."

Alvios paused for a moment, sizing Jenso up, before a sly smirk spread across his face. "...Unless someone from the place supposedly filled with bandits showed up and started saving lives. He'd want nothing more than to sweet talk you into keeping your mouth shut." Alvios stood up, strapping his sword back to his waist properly. "You're right. Let's have a word with the head of the town."

[Jensoman]

Jenso smiled back at Alvios. "Sounds like a plan." He responded, and dashed down the stairs. "WHOA SHIT!!" He shrieked, falling down the stairs. He quickly hopped back up and dusted himself off, feeling relieved that he didn't crash into anyone. He acted as if nothing happened and dashed out of the tavern, assuming Alvios would follow.

[tex]

Melina didn't move from behind the counter, waiting for Alvios to follow after Jenso. She seemed a little concerned. What kind of trouble would this Jenso character get Alvios into? She didn't quite trust him, at all. Then again, she didn't trust anyone who got close to Alvios. She paid Alvios a passing wave as he left the tavern, and sighed irritably. New people were never good news. Not in corona.

---

~ End Of Chapter 108 ~

[tex]

~ Chapter 109 ~

_{Leisurely Stroll}

[Jensoman]

Jenso walked beside Alvios, as he thought about everything that had happened recently. "Hey...Melina is really nice to you...Well, I mean, I'm sure everyone in this city does, but...she seems to care about you a lot. Are you guys really good friends or something?" He asked. Of course, perhaps Alvios considered everyone in Corona city his friends. But there was a difference between momentary praise, and actually caring about a person.

[Hatman1801]

Alvios went silent for a moment, looking off to the side. "...Remember how I said I had to stay here for personal reasons? She's that personal reason. She's like a little sister to me, and looks up to me the same way. She used to have an older sister... but she ended up being killed, and in my regret, I decided to take care of Melina for her sake." He looked over at Jenso, uncomfortable with the topic at hand. "Enough about that...why are you all the way out here in Corona anyway?"

[Jensoman]

"I see..." Jenso simply responded, realising that Alvios felt uncomfortable about what he had said. He wanted to change the topic, and Jenso didn't see any reason not too. "Well...After Luke told me about your, uh, treason...I wanted to come here and have a word with you. I wanted to take you back to Diver's Paradise, so Luke would be able to move on from the past. I wanted him to start an alliance between Tech-mo and Diver's Paradise, that's how I ended up getting myself caught up in this whole thing, and why I wanted to resolve it. I don't mind, though.." He said. "It's to be aware about what the Order of Chaos is doing and where, and other threats..."

[Hatman1801]

Alvios was curious. "Order of Chaos? Haven't heard of that before, and I've done my share of poking around. Who are they?"

[Jensoman]

Jenso frowned as Alvios wanted to know about the Order of Chaos. It was clear that he wasn't happy to talk about it, but he did so anyway. "They're a bunch of murderous psychopaths who run around killing whoever and wherever they want. They all wear black masks and they're really powerful.." Jenso responded to Alvios.

[Hatman1801]

Alvios stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes going wide, one hand going to his stomach. "....Black masks...and powerful enough to kill hundreds with a wave of their hand, right? Could destroy a whole village on a whim?" Alvios growled a little under his breath. "... We have more common goals than I thought, Jenso. We've run into the same enemy before it seems."

[Jensoman]

Jenso turned to Alvios in surprise and clenched his fists. "No way...did you run into them, too?!" Jenso shouted. He began to get angry, but managed to calm himself down to avoid himself from snapping at Alvios. It wasn't his fault, after all. "Wait, are they the ones who killed-" Jenso muttered, about to mention Melina's sister, but cut himself off. "Me and my friends are going to stop them, Alvios. I promise you that."

[Hatman1801]

Alvios didn't miss what Jenso was about to say, and sighed heavily. "...One of them wiped out my hometown. Nearly killed me, I got to watch as everyone else died. For awhile, it was why I traveled. Made myself stronger than I thought myself capable of. Still, though... Jenso, what I saw haunts me to this day. They aren't natural. Before you think about fighting them, maybe you should ask yourself if you should."

Alvios gestured to the buildings and people around them as they walked. There's plenty more threats than the Order of Chaos to people. Sometimes it's better to just protect what's right in front of you than looking too far beyond the horizon. Like this town, for example. It's a real, tangible threat that endangers this place. Not some hidden, masked godlike beings."

[Jensoman]

Jenso nodded at Alvios and understood his words. "Yeah, but...is it really wise to wait for a threat to show up, and kill or endanger people you care about? I know we managed to fend off the swarm, but...if one of the Order of Chaos showed up here, the whole city might get destroyed, wether we're here defending it or not. Hell, one of them nearly blew up this planet not too long ago, but me and my friend Bruce managed to kill him right before he could." Jenso said to Alvios.

[Hatman1801]

Alvios' jaw almost dropped at that. "The whole planet...? That's...beyond the scope of what I thought of them, even originally. Gods above. Maybe I should..." He paused to consider it, if perhaps he gave up too soon... then sighed, shaking his head. "You aren't wrong. I might still be on their tail myself, but... I think stopping them isn't the job for someone like me. I've messed up saving people too many times, myself."

[Jensoman]

Jenso turned to Alvios with a confident look on his face. "I can tell that you're very strong and skilled, so I think you'd definitely be able to take them on. Not all of them at once though, naturally.." Jenso said to Alvios. "A loss isn't a loss unless you let it consume you." Jenso added, smiling at him. "...But first, let's deal with Apollo and the swarm."

[Hatman1801]

Alvios slowed down at Jenso's words. A loss isn't a loss unless you let it consume you. He smirked a little at that. Maybe Jenso would be able to change his mind, after all this time...

A-Alvios...don't...

"...Yeah, let's deal with this first."

[tex]

---

~ End Of Chapter 109 ~

[tex]

~ Chapter 110 ~

_{Apollo Is Kind Of An Asshat}

"I'm very goddamn busy, Al," Apollo growled as him and Jenso stepped into his office. He was looking through several papers, trying to manage the town's growth after they'd lost their trade routes in the passing years, "What the hell is so important that you have to drag your fairy-lookin' ass into my office right after the morning monster mambo?" Apollo snickered to himself and spoke quickly afterwards, "Ya like that? Alliteration? I came up with that all on my own: Morning Monster Mambo. Might add it to the paper, do a little column on it for the kiddies to rejoice over your silly heroics. Morning Monster Mambo.. Haha! Definitely," Apollo ranted on, talking to himself more at this point.

[Jensoman]

Jenso blinked at Apollo as he spoke. "If Alvios's heroics are so silly, then why don't you do them on your own? If they're silly, then they must be easy for you to do as well, right?" Jenso suddenly retorted, somewhat annoyed by the way Apollo treated Alvios. "Anyways...I came from Diver's Paradise, and I came to talk to you. I'm Jenso." He stated.